boards and commissions

NASHVILLE – The Beacon Center recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of aspiring Memphis barber Elias Zarate based on the unconstitutional law that requires barbers to have a high school degree as a prerequisite to getting a barber’s license. The Beacon Center has filed suit against the Tennessee Board of Cosmetology and Barbers Examiners and its members in order to eliminate this unfair regulation.

Gov. and Mrs. Bill Haslam, along with Raja and Michelle Jubran, will host a farewell dinner at Cherokee Country Club for the outgoing UT board of trustees on June 21, according to Victor Ashe’s latest column. He sees some irony in the event.

The state Board of Paroles split three ways Wednesday in a voting on whether to recommend that Gov. Bill Haslam grant some form of clemency Cyntoia Brown, a Nashville woman serving a life sentence for a murder she committed in 2004 at age 16, reports The Tennessean. The upshot is no clear suggestion to Haslam, who has said he’s aware of the case that has received national attention while giving indication of his inclinations.

Leaders of some women’s groups are protesting the treatment of Marjorie Quin – the only woman considered for nomination as new director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation – when she was interviewed by the TBI Nominating Commission, according to Nashville news media. Quin is a retired TBI agent who specialized in handling sex trafficking cases.

A nominating commission Tuesday chose three finalists for appointment as new director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation – former Bradley County Sheriff Tim Gobble, current TBI Deputy Director Jason Locke and Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch. Gov. Bill Haslam can now chose the new director from the list submitted by the TBI Nominating Commission.

The executive director of the Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency, headquartered in Cookeville, was fired Wednesday by a 14-12 vote of the organization’s board of directors, reports WSMV TV. The vote came after a closed-door meeting for a briefing on allegations against Luke Collings by the board’s attorney. A state comptroller’s audit is also underway.

The Tennessee General Assembly Tuesday evening approved seven of Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposed appointments to the University of Tennessee’s new board of trustees, reports the Times Free Press. That includes two new nominees submitted by the governor and rushed through the confirmation process as replacements to nominees spurned in the Senate earlier.

About 45 people submitted applications to become the next director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation after current Director Mark Gwyn retires, reports WTVF. The TBI Nominating Commission cut the list down to ten persons on Wednesday. The ten will all be interviewed at a public meeting by the panel May 15 before it submits three final nominees to Gov. Bill Haslam, who will then appoint one.

Four of Gov. Bill Haslam’s 10 nominees to a new University of Tennessee Board of Trustees were effectively rejected by the Senate Education Committee Thursday – a day after another, current board Vice Chairman Raja Jubran, withdrew amid criticism from legislators. That leaves just five of the governor’s 10 appointees up for approval on floor votes.

The University of Tennessee system’s current Board of Trustees vice chairman, Raja Jubran, on Wednesday withdrew as a nominee to serve on UT’s freshly re-configured board after it became clear the Knoxville businessman and friend of Gov. Bill Haslam faced significant hurdles in winning legislative confirmation, reports the Times Free Press. After four hours of grilling the governor’s nine other nominees, a House committee approved their confirmation while a Senate committee delayed a vote.